Agri-Food
A great place for R&D

Québec is known as one of the most favourable locations for R&D activities. What’s more, thanks to its generous tax measures businesses can cut their R&D expenses. Québec boasts a number of private and public research centres that work closely with the private sector and promote innovation in products and services.

MacDonald Campus – McGill University The Faculty of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences is internationally recognized for research that advances knowledge and solves problems related to agriculture, food and the environment. Researchers have access to world-class research facilities on both of McGill’s campuses and in McGill’s unique network of field stations. The Research Office helps link researchers with external partners and keeps researchers informed of funding opportunities and other research-related news.

Some promising “Québec-grown” innovations

The Conseil de la transformation alimentaire du Québec is working to extend the shelf life of various food items by using natural antimicrobial agents and innovative strategies to enhance food safety, especially for fruits, vegetables, meats, bakery products and ready-to-eat foods.

Some promising “Québec-grown” innovations

The new McGill University Consortium de recherche précompétitive en transformation alimentaire was created to encourage the growth of the biofood industry and provide greater support to Québec businesses with their research and innovation activities.

Some promising “Québec-grown” innovations

An artificial stomach was developed at Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada’s Food Research and Development Centre in Saint-Hyacinthe. Invented by researcher Yves Arcand, iViDiS is an in vitro digestive system that imitates the human body’s natural digestive processes. The innovation is a boon for agri-food SMBs, who will be able to pre-test new products before moving on to more expensive, human-focused clinical studies.

Some promising “Québec-grown” innovations

Founded in 2010 in the offices of the AG-Bio Centre incubator in Lévis, Khrolosdeveloped the FastActiv technology, which uses chewing to quickly release and facilitate the absorption of active agents.

Some promising “Québec-grown” innovations

OMAX, a nutrition bar developed by the firm Nutrifrance, in Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu, has won numerous innovation awards since 2015, the most recent being a 2016 DUX prize for its improved product.

Some promising “Québec-grown” innovations

In 2001,Québec farmers and agricultural agencies set up Agri-Traçabilité Québec, a permanent identification and traceability program that tracks agricultural products from farm to table. ATQ also offered its expertise to other producers in Canada and in Chile through its subsidiary Agri-Traçabilité International (ATI). Here’s a field where Québec’s trailblazing role was clearly inspiring!

Some promising “Québec-grown” innovations

Milkomax has invented a robot that milks cows all on its own. Roboleo can milk over 50 cows and collect 1,800 to 2,000 litres of milk per day, freeing up farmers to take care of their other tasks.

Keep up with new developments in your industry

If you'd like to learn more about the issues facing Québec's agri-food industry, a number of organizations and associations provide information and opportunities for dialogue.